Mental Health

Related Topics Therapies Thinking and Awareness Emotions Stress and Anxiety

Around the world, women are more likely than men to be diagnosed with depression.

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How Stress Alters the Brain and Behavior

Huda Akil, professor of psychiatry at the University of Michigan, explains the many ways that the stress of chronic isolation, especially solitary confinement, affects the brain and behavior.

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18 min

The Impact of Isolation on the Brain

Richard J. Smeyne discusses recent research that reveals how solitary confinement can cause physical damage to the brain.

BrainFacts/SfN
16 min

Making It Visible: Neuroscience Shines a Light on Solitary Confinement

As social animals, our health depends on interactions with others. If placed in isolation, without those connections, our physical and mental health take a hit.

BrainFacts/SfN
18 min

My 29 Years in Solitary Confinement

Robert King, a member of the Angola 3, shares how his 29 years in solitary confinement changed the course of his life forever.

BrainFacts/SfN
18 min

Social Connection May Help Avoid Opioid Addiction Relapse

Research in rat models suggests that protection against intense drug craving may come from the reward of social interactions.

BrainFacts/SfN

Rethinking Serotonin's Role in Depression

Serendipitous findings in the 1950s spawned the idea that depression was a “chemical imbalance” in the brain. But decades of research — and a radical new treatment — are upending that thinking.